Germany reimposes border controls to tackle migration

Germany has reintroduced checks on all nine of its land borders in a move that has angered a number of its neighbours – but brought praise from the far right.

- RACHEL HAGAN

The new restrictions came into force yesterday in the wake of a string of deadly knife attacks in which the suspects were asylum seekers, and after the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) made big gains in local elections.

The aim, according to interior minister Nancy Faeser, is to curb migration and “protect against the acute dangers posed by Islamist terrorism and serious crime”. However, critics suggest it will damage the economic asset that is the free-movement Schengen zone, which includes 25 EU nations plus four others including Switzerland and Norway.

Germany, the EU’s largest country, is located in the heart of Europe and borders more countries than any other EU member. Temporary checks are permitted in certain circumstances, such as threats to internal security. Restrictions were already in place at Germany’s eastern and southern borders with Poland, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria, and they will now also apply for around six months at the borders with France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Denmark.